“He doesn’t know it’s you, does he?” Papa said, and he chuckled. The sound was familiar; I made the same kind of laughter when I was overwhelmed and furious and afraid. “This is very foolish, Clem. I know what they did to us was agonizing, but you must let it go. This will eat you from within if you don’t, daughter.”

Let it go.

He might have found peace by doing such, but I couldn’t.

“Papa . . .” I reached for his hand, and for an anguished moment I thought he would jerk away from me. But he wove his fingers with mine, fingers that were now smudged and stained from work in the mines. A place he should not be, as if he wanted to forget and hide who he was. “Papa, I know you’re worried, but I’m doing this because families like the Vespers need to know they are not invincible. That they cannot just come and steal someone’s home for their own amusement.”

His eyes flared. He dropped my hand and said, “Go to your room, Clem.”

“But, Papa—”

“Please go. I need a moment.”

He had never ordered me to my room before like this, and my face flushed as I spun and hurried up the stairs to my chamber. A candelabra was lit, and I sat on the edge of the bed, exhausted. It had been a long day. When my father refused to come see me, I washed my face and brushed the tangles from my hair, and I dressed in a soft chemise.

I climbed into bed and sat against the headboard. Beyond my window, the city still teemed with noises, and I longed for the peace and quiet of the countryside. I stared at the door, waiting, and it must have been sometime past midnight when I finally heard Papa softly rap on the door.

“Come in.”

He stepped into the room, haggard and slow, as if his joints ached. I braced myself for the worst until I watched him cast a protective charm around the room, so no one could overhear us. No one, including my mother and Imonie.

Papa stopped at the foot of my bed. He stared at me a moment, like I truly had become a stranger in all ways to him.

“Tell me what spell you have planned to protect yourself,” he said. “A spell that will shield you and give you the chance to flee when Phelan discovers it’s you, and you’ve been deceiving him.”

“He will never know it’s—”

“Clementine.”

I swallowed. “I don’t have one planned yet.”

“Then that is the first order of business. I want you to have it prepared by the end of this week, for me to approve.”

“Very well,” I said, and my mind reeled with potential spells I could spin for such an encounter. If I was truly in danger of Phelan harming me.